Falkirk Wheel, Boat lift in Falkirk, Scotland.
Description
The Falkirk Wheel is a steel boat lift in Falkirk, Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. Two arms extend from a central axle, each carrying a water-filled gondola that rotates to move boats between the two waterways.
History
The opening in 2002 restored the link between two canals that had been separated for many decades by eleven locks. The construction emerged as part of a regeneration program for the waterways of central Scotland.
Culture
The name recalls the shipbuilding tradition of the region and connects engineering with the form of traditional hand tools. Visitors regularly watch leisure boats slowly entering the gondolas while walkers gather along the canal paths.
Practical
A full cycle takes roughly five minutes and lifts boats between the two canals over a height difference of about 24 meters (79 feet). Visitors can watch from several viewing platforms, and footpaths lead around the entire structure.
Did you know?
The system needs only as much power as boiling eight kettles because the two gondolas work through weight balance. The visible rotating movement appears slow, yet the rotation lifts more than 500 tons of water and boats at the same time.
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